Asti

Asti, a town in the province of Alessandria, North Italy, on the left bank of the river Tanaro, 26 miles from Turin. It is large and well-built, and has a station on the line between Turin and Alessandria. A bishop has his seat here, and the cathedral dates from 1248. It was famous for pottery before 400 B.C., when the Gauls destroyed it. In the middle ages it was a powerful republic, and some of the hundred towers that defended it are still in existence. Alfieri was born here in 1749. The district produces one of the most famous of Italian sparkling wines.